SLT last week said the Group has been able to achieve a 31% growth in Net Profit after Taxation (NPAT), of Rs. 7,367 million when compared to Rs.5,640 million of the previous year.

Apart from the Telecommunication Development Charge (TDC) refund (amounting to Rs. 2.1 billion), this growth was the result of remarkable achievements of SLT’s fully own subsidiary Mobitel and expansion of data and IP related services of SLT.

In achieving the results, the group has allocated Rs.2,193 million for the government revenue by way of Corporate Taxation apart from the indirect taxes and levies.

The NPAT of SLT has grown by 23% to Rs. 6,601 million in comparison to Rs. 5,388 million of the previous year, showing resilience to the to the difficult conditions that prevailed in the market and economy.

Leisha de Silva Chandrasena, the Chairperson of SLT and of its subsidiaries is of the view that the diversification strategies and customer centric business operations have paid off and resulted in achieving impressive results in a turbulent and chaotic environment. She hopes that the group will continue to traverse the same path towards progress and growth, while concentrating more on cost base strategies.

During the year under review,the group has achieved 9% increase of revenue that amounts to Rs. 47,044 million when compared to Rs. 43,234 million of the previous year. This growth was generated by the subsidiaries and data and IP related services of SLT.

Wired line revenue had dropped by 10% to Rs. 15,107 million when compared to Rs. 16,856 million in 2007. This is due to the intense competition and the reduction of call and rental tariffs in November 2007 in accordance with a Supreme Court decision.

During the year under review, SLT has been able to provide over 28,000 wired line new connections.

SLT continued to be the leading International Gateway Operator in Sri Lanka but saw its international revenue dip by 5% to Rs. 8,649 million due to the reduction of IDD call charges and competitive international settlement rates.

In line with the recent reductions of IDD call charges by 45% to 86% depending on the country, SLT expects a growth in IDD traffic that would help to boost revenue while creating opportunities to negotiate with foreign operators for better settlement rates.

During the year under review revenue from data oriented services increased from 37% to Rs. 5,725 million, compared to Rs. 4,180 million of the previous year. SLT maintains
over 60% market share in the internet related market. It is the leader in

broad band services with a customer base of over 97,500 and 88% market share at the end of 2008.

The group was hit by the adverse economic conditions that prevailed globally, during the year 2008, and incurred an increased operational cost from 21% to Rs. 25,095 million, when compared to Rs. 20,748 million of the previous year.

Commenting on the refund on TDC, the SLT said International Telecom Levy (ITL) was introduced in 2005 with retroactive effect from March 2003 requiring International Telecommunication Gateway Operators to credit US$ 0.38 per international incoming minute as the Telecommunication Development Charge (TDC) to the government. Operators are entitled to reclaim up to 2/3 of the contribution to the TDC, within three years against the funds expended for network roll out to the unserved and underserved areas of Sri Lanka.

SLT contributed to the TDC and expended for network roll out to unserved and underserved areas and was entitled to reclaim 2/3 of ITL. In December 2008, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) released the refund of 2/3 ITL for the period March 2003 to December 2008 which is shown as the TDC refund in the financial statements.